Want to find out about a movie before you spend your hard-earned money on it? MovieReviewMaven will tell you the good, the bad, the ugly and the inspiring, so you can decide if it's right for you or your family.
In a Nutshell: Woody Allen is a master at quirky characters
and conversations. In this dark comedy
about love, regret, and existentialism, old Hollywood and Manhattan glamour
drip with nostalgia.
As Bobby Dorfman says, you will be “half bored, half
fascinated.”
Uplifting theme:
“Live
every day like it’s your last and someday you’ll be right.” – Evelyn’s mom
“I guess
some feelings never die. Is that
good or bad?” – Bobby Dorfman
Regret,
longing, love.
Things I liked:
The
talented cast includes Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and
Blake Lively, and Rad Taylor.
The
end will leave you thinking about the love that got away in your own life.
You
get to see beautiful homes, theaters, clubs, and even famous celebrity
homes.
This
is the third time that Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart have worked
together in a film. Their chemistry
is evident and they both deliver spot-on performances. I love Jesse Eisenberg in everything he does. Turns out, he's perfect for Woody Allen material too.
The stylized music in the very beginning does a great job of setting the tone and enveloping you in the time period throughout the entire movie.
It pokes fun at the superficiality of society life, but it sure makes being rich look fun. (wink)
Things I didn’t like:
A lot
of movie critics say this movie is “charming.” I’m sorry, but I do NOT find adultery
charming.
It’s
very “Woody Allen.” If you like his
style, you’ll enjoy the movie. If
not, it’s more of the same.
Interesting lines:
“Unrequited
love kills more people in a year than tuberculosis.” – New York writer
“Dreams
are dreams.” – Vonnie (Kristen Stewart)
Funny lines:
“First
a murderer, then a Christian. What
did I do to deserve this?” – Evelyn
“Too
bad Jews don’t believe in an afterlife.
They’d get a lot more customers.” – Evelyn
“Socrates
said, ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’, but the examined one is
no bargain.” – Leonard (Stephen Kunken)
Tips for
parents:
Children
will be completely bored. It really is a movie meant for adults.
There
is an awkward conversation with a prostitute.
In a Nutshell: This is an inspiring, true story of
Captain Chesley Sullenberger III, who saved 155 souls by landing a US Airways
airplane on the Hudson River in 2009 when both engines failed.
Known
as “Miracle on the Hudson,” the story dramatically measures numbers and facts
against human frailties and instinct.
Combine the legendary Clint Eastwood (who directs the film) with
Tom Hanks’ excellent performance and you get solid tribute to a deserving hero.
Uplifting theme:
“Everything
is unprecedented until it has happened.” – Sully
“A
pilot never stops acquiring knowledge.” – Sully’s crop-dusting trainer when
he was young
Here’s
to the hard-working, unsung heroes who do their best every day without
fanfare or awards. Sully explained,
“I don’t feel like a hero. I was
just a man doing my job.” - Sully
"A delay is better than a disaster." - Sully's Chinese fortune cookie
Things I liked:
I
wondered how this story would be stretched into a feature film and what we
might learn that we hadn’t already heard in the news when it happened. Clint Eastwood does an outstanding job
building tension and drama by looping forwards and backwards through the
story, creating a powerful end to the movie that we didn’t know.
Great
cinematography and CGI work.
Fans
of disaster movies will get a few glimpses of what kind of destruction
could have happened if the plane had crashed differently, as imagined by
Sully in nightmares and flashbacks.
Anna
Gun from Breaking Bad and Mike O’Malley from Glee do a great job as the
critical investigators who questioned Sully’s decision to land on the
Hudson River.
Audiences
will likely compare Tom Hanks’ portrayal of Sully with his role as Captain
Phillips in that award-winning movie.
Tom Hanks delivers powerful and stirring performances in both. How is it he has only received two
Oscars so far? Even stranger is that
they were both back in the ‘90’s.
He’s everything we want in an actor and truly carries this
understated film.
Hollywood
often glamorizes “bad boys” as heroes, so it’s truly refreshing to see an
honest, hard-working “good guy” win the praises and adoration he deserves.
Don’t
leave the theater after the last scene.
Keep watching during the final credits and you’ll be rewarded with
photos and videos of the wreckage, rescue, and reunion of the passengers
from Flight 1549. You get to hear the real Sully announce, "This is your captain speaking."
You can never go wrong when you add New York City as a character in your movie.
Things I didn’t like:
Laura
Linney plays Lorrie Sullenberger who withers under the pressure and spends
the entire movie walking around her house on the phone.
Aaron
Eckhart had the most gigantic, distracting mustache I’ve ever seen on
him. I normally love him (he has my
son’s eyes), but all I could see when he talked was that super bushy
mustache.
Because
the film is pretty short, there simply isn’t enough time to develop any
characters other than Tom Hanks’ portrayal of Captain Sullenberger. We don’t even learn anything about his
co-pilot played by Aaron Eckhart.
I
thought it was almost creepy when the flight attendants started chanting “Brace
for impact! Heads down! Stay down!” Obviously, that’s what they’re trained
to do in a crash-landing scenario, but it seems like that would make the
situation even more stressful and scary.
I wish the camera had stayed on Tom Hanks' face longer when he was given the news in the hospital that 155 souls were saved that day. That was a missed opportunity for what could have been an incredible performance by Hanks. He started to deliver powerful emotion, but then the camera moved away!
Interesting tidbits:
The
movie was filmed with IMAX cameras.
The
famous aircraft carrier Intrepid is featured in the movie.
A
local bar in New York City created a drink they called “The Sully” which
has some Grey Goose with a “splash” of water.
The
water in the Hudson River was an icy 36 degrees that day. A few passengers jumped in the water and
could have easily been frozen to death if rescue workers hadn’t quickly
arrived on the scene. Sully never
took credit for saving all the people on the plane day; instead, he attributed
the combined efforts of his entire crew and all of the rescue workers to
their survival that day.
Chelsey
Sullenberger III was included in Time
magazine’s “100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons” of 2009.
The
aircraft for Flight 1549 was recovered and is now on display at the
Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Sully
has received several awards and authored two books since that fateful
day. He was hired as an aviation
and safety expert by CBS News and currently gives speeches.
Funny lines:
“I’ve
never been so happy to be in New York in my life.” – Jeff Skiles (Aaron
Eckhart)
“It’s
our job to investigate how the plane ended up in the Hudson.” – Charles Porter
(Mike O’Malley)
“ON the river.” – Jeff
“You
know the only way to get out of La Guardia on time?” – flight attendant #1
“What’s that?” – flight attendant
#2
“Go to JFK.” – flight attendant #1
“I’m
thinking about running over the press with a car. Self-defense. Do you think a jury would convict?” –
Lorraine Sullenberger (Laura Linney)
“Can
you believe they charge $5 for a Snickers?
I could bankrupt the airline in 5 bites.” – Jeff Skiles
Interesting lines:
"It's been awhile since New York had news this good, especially with an airplane in it." - US Airways representative
“Life’s
easier in the air.” – Jeff Skiles
“They
should pin the medal and put you back to work.” – Jeff Skiles
“I don’t
like not being in control of the process.
I’d like myself back.” – Sully
"There was no calculating. I had to rely on my experience." - Sully
Parent tips:
1
F-bomb, which is actually surprising, considering how many people could
have easily lost their lives that dramatic, stressful day.
It’s a
little slow-moving and boring for children.
In a Nutshell: This period dramedy spotlights a brilliant and ever talented Meryl
Streep, although this film won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I can really relate to Florence, however. My singing voice is terrible, but I love
music. How wonderful it would be to have
something beautiful come out of my mouth when I sing.
Florence Foster Jenkins was an heiress and socialite who desperately wanted
to be an opera star, despite her lack of talent. Those around her sheltered her from the ugly
truth, something which is both sweet and irresponsible at the same time. The dilemma: crush someone’s dreams with a dose of reality or enable
their blind delusion by supporting their dream?
Uplifting theme:
“Music
matters.” – Florence Foster Jenkins
“Music
has been, and is, my life.” – Florence
Money
can buy an awful lot.
Supportive
kindness, friendship, and loyalty.
Oh, to
dream.
There's more to stardom than talent. Of course, reality TV has already taught us that.
Things I liked:
It was
fun to watch Florence’s passionate reactions when she listened to music.
Fans
of the Big Bang Theory will get a kick out of Simon Helberg playing pianist
Cosme McMoon. His facial expressions are picture perfect. His performance exceeds expectations and is sure to secure more spots on the Big Screen.
Hugh Grant
gives a mature and tender performance as Florence’s devoted, yet unfaithful
husband, St. Clair Bayfield. I love how he dotes on her, calls her "Bunny", and makes her feel like she is truly loved and treasured.
Bathtub
full of potato salad. Ha ha
It’s
actually hard to sing badly. Meryl Streep seems to relish in those moments. I
loved Meryl’s singing at the very end.
You
get to hear the voice of the real Florence during the closing credits, as
well as see some pictures of what she looked like.
Things I didn’t like:
You
will hear some truly terrible singing. It can start to really grate on you and
tear you down with weary.
It’s
slow-moving.
Such ridiculous excess and self-indulgence.
Interesting lines:
“The
lady is a lesson in fidelity and courage and that’s why we love her.” –
Chrisitan McKay (Earl Wilson)
“Yours
is the truest voice I have ever heard.” – St. Clair
“People
may say I couldn’t sing, but no one will say I didn’t sing.” - Florence
Funny lines:
“The
Verdi lunch always begins with a soup.
You know that! How could we
begin the lunch without a soup?
There would be a riot!” - Florence
In a Nutshell: This high energy family flick by Universal and Illumination is colorful
and fun for all ages. Directed by Yarrow
Cheney and Chris Renaud, the visual gags, lines and chase scenes come at you non-stop
with just the right touch of heartwarming “ahhs.” It’s oddly therapeutic, like you’ve just been
playing with your own pet for 90 minutes.
Uplifting theme:
Friendship
Love
Things I liked:
I love
the opening New York City scene.
You just can’t go wrong making a movie with the Big Apple as one of
your characters.
You’ll
recognize Jenny Slate’s voice from the adorable Zootopia movie. She has such a unique voice that she has
a great future in animated family films.
The
animators clearly have pets. They
nailed the body movements and pet expressions.
It’s
fast-paced with humor that even parents will get a kick out
of.
The
talented cast includes Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, Albert Brooks, Steve
Coogan, Dana Carvey, Ellie Kemper, Lake
Bell, Bobby Moynihan and more. I
adore Jaime Camil in the popular TV sit-com “Jane the Virgin”, so I was
happy to hear his melodramatic, over-acted Latino voice as Fernando in a
telenovela that Gidget watches.
I
laughed out loud at the sea monkey's comment because I had thought the very same thing after buying some.
The
story about how dogs are descended from wolves. Ha ha
Cute
and perky music by Alexandre Desplat.
Keep
watching after the first set of credits at the end. At the very end, you hear Pops yell, “Alright,
party’s over!”
Things I didn’t like:
See it
in 3D if you want to see dog drool flying towards you.
It’s chaotic, so you'll probably want to take a nap with your dog afterwards.
Isn’t
this story basically Toy Story with animals? Think about it.
Kevin
Hart’s character Snowball screams during the entire movie, which can grate on your nerves.
The French
animation studio, Illumination, really pushes the envelope for family
entertainment, because this movie has violence, sexual innuendo, and a few jokes that are inappropriate for American sensibilities.
You
see most of the cute moments in the movie trailer within the first 10
minutes of the film.
Snowball
is a total psycho and the action sequences with him escalate into the absurd by the
end.
Funny lines:
“Where
is Max? Tell me! Don’t look at him. Look at me.” - Gidget (Jenny Slate)
“I
feel heroic…and handsome…a little wet, but I look good. I look good.” – Snowball
“I’m
your friend, and as your friend, I gotta be honest. I don’t care about you or your
problems.” – Chloe
“We
gotta take the secret route!” – Pops
“Ok, the secret route was death.” –
Chloe
“Nobody
could ever love a cat like they love a dog. I’m just saying.” – Max
“Dog
people do weird, inexplicable things like they get dogs instead of cats.” –
Chloe
“You’re
not doing great, but you’re not drowning…and that’s something!” – Duke (Eric Stonestreet)
“You
may have lots of time, but for me, every minute is a cliffhanger.” – Pops (Dana
Carvey)
“This
is groundbreaking evil behavior, people!” – Snowball
“Oh,
great. You’re in love. How gross
for everyone.” - Pops
Tips for
parents:
It
will make you want to line the walls of your house with web cams to see
what your pets really do when you’re gone.
Because
the target audience is young, plan on butt-sniffing, rabbit pooping, and
nervous peeing jokes.
Your
kids are DEFINITELY going to want a pet after seeing this.
